Nothing like the sun

Anthony Burgess

Nothing like the sun is an act of homage to William Shakepeare and attempts to answer certain questions about the enigmatic poet's love-life, as well as the relationship of this love-life to his work. Was, for instance, his love for the Earl of South Hampton really platonic? Did he love Anne, his wife? Who was the Dark Lady, whose eyes (as described negatively, by Shakespeare himself) give the novel it's title? Why - in the mddle of the road of life - did he suddenly cease to be "sweet Master Shakespeare" and become instead the purveyor of a dark and nasty vision of the world? Everything here could have happened and quite probably did.